At the NCAA championships, WVU struggling in smallbore. Two 572s (way below average) and two 583s (around average). A 583 by the last WVU shooter and the team will have a 2321, well below season average of 2329 and season high of 2340. The good news is the U. Alaska doesn't seem to be having an exceptionally good day, and WVU dominates in air rifle.

WVU finished 12 down to U of Alaska -- Fairbanks after small bore. About 2/3ds of the way thru the first relay in air rifle today, WVU has picked up 9 points. Maren Prediger is having an amazing session so far.

The WVU rifle team is off to a good start towards its 4th consecutive championship in the 2015-16 season. It's again ranked #1 and its scores on the first weekend were as high as any the entire 2014-15 season. Despite losing at least two internationalists, as the old saying goes --- they reloaded, not rebuilt. Their main rival last year, Alaska-Fairbanks, is also strong. Ranked #2, their best score on their first weekend was only 3 points lower than the WVU score.

ncohen wrote:The WVU rifle team is off to a good start towards its 4th consecutive championship in the 2015-16 season. It's again ranked #1 and its scores on the first weekend were as high as any the entire 2014-15 season. Despite losing at least two internationalists, as the old saying goes --- they reloaded, not rebuilt. Their main rival last year, Alaska-Fairbanks, is also strong. Ranked #2, their best score on their first weekend was only 3 points lower than the WVU score.

Correction: The 4715 they shot this year was below a 4717 and 4718 they shot last year.

Following a nearly two-month hiatus, the West Virginia University rifle team faces its toughest opponent of the season today. The matchup, featuring a rematch of last year’s national championship, will decide who will be the nation’s top team as the second half of the season gets into full swing.

The No. 1 Mountaineers (7-0, 4-0 GARC) will play host to No. 5 Alaska-Fairbanks (3-1) this morning in Morgantown. While the Nanooks have not performed the way they were expected to perform thus far, the matchup will be among West Virginia’s most difficult tests this season.

I admit I don't really know how the scoring works. I thought it was 20 shots in 3 positions with a 10 ring being 10 points for a perfect score of 600, then you add all 3 positions up for the individual total and the top 4 team members for a team total...

If that's the case, it would be WVU 2344 - AF 2308 in smallbore (a 36 point lead, which is substantial).

But, the smallbore score listed on the live tracker says 1755-1731, which is confusing. Match scores are typically in the 4600-4700 range...

To put the score in perspective, we beat this team last year in the National Championship match 4702-4700.

WVU has a chance at breaking its national record of 4720 for a match. They scored 2382 in air rifle, which was only 4 points below their air rifle national record and by far their best score of the year. 3 scorers in smallbore have a total of 1755. If one of the two remaining shooters can hit 584, they'll score 4721.